


input and output

by Wonderlandian_Geek



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi Keiji is a Good Significant Other, Alternate Universe - College/University, Asexual Kozume Kenma, Bokuto Koutarou is a Good Significant Other, Crafts, Cute, Domestic Boyfriends, Domestic Fluff, Kozume Kenma Needs a Hug, Kozume Kenma-centric, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Significant Other, Multi, Sensory Processing Disorder, Song: Love Story (Taylor Swift), Song: Teenage Dream (Katy Perry), Sweet, basically kenma has three super supportive bfs and i'm jealous, but not actually cuz no physical contact plz and thx, not mentioned but I was def thinking about it, sensory issues, this whole thing is legit just me projecting onto kenma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29199351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderlandian_Geek/pseuds/Wonderlandian_Geek
Summary: Kenma has a bad sensory day and tries to handle it himself like he always does. Luckily, his three amazing boyfriends are there to help when that isn't enough.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 101





	input and output

**Author's Note:**

> As the tags say, this whole thing is just me projecting onto Kenma. So a lot of the things that happen in this are ways that I deal with my own sensory issues, just a little bit exaggerated bcz my SPD isn't all that severe anymore. I was diagnosed when I was really young, so I've been working on it almost my whole life, but I can picture Kenma thinking everything that it affects is completely normal.

It's rare for Kenma to wake up and immediately want to jump out of bed. Usually, he likes to lay in bed for at least another hour reading or playing games on his phone. But today, he can't get untangled from the covers fast enough. His weighted blanket it just too hot, and the sheets are too smooth, and his pajama pants are too itchy, and the shirt he stole from Bokuto is too loose.

It's Wednesday, which means he has a day off of classes. Thank God too, because he doesn't know how he'd deal with one of his bad days in a classroom. He hasn't had to worry about that since high school, but back then he had volleyball practice, which usually helped. But Wednesday also means Kuroo and Akaashi have their busiest day of classes, and Bokuto has his all afternoon practice. Kenma can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Kuroo's been with him through bad days before, sure, and he never asked any questions, but Akaashi and Bokuto have only heard about it before. This is the first time it's been _this_ bad since the four of them moved in together.

In the end, he decides it's a good thing. Hopefully he'll have it all figured out by the time they get back. He doesn't want Akaashi and Bokuto to see him right now. Kenma on his bad days isn't the same as on Kenma on his good days.

Sure, he's still a recluse who hates people, but it's magnified to an extreme. And it's like his interests are completely different on his bad day.

After spending five minutes on the floor (or is it ten? maybe only two? that's another thing that happens on bad days, his internal clock gets all out of wack) thinking about this, he gets up and trudges to his closet. He digs around for a bit before bringing out the box of clothes he saves specifically for when he gets like this.

He wears lots of loose, baggy clothes, but on bad days he can't stand the feel of fabric hanging off of his body, weighing him down. Instead, he slips on a pair of skinny jeans and a T-shirt that is technically too small for him. Normally that's enough, so he puts on one of the sweatshirts he stole from Kuroo over the top, only to throw it off seconds later. Nope, it's one of the super worn-out ones, so it's too itchy. Groaning, he pulls out the only jacket he keeps in the box, a soft red fleece. He begrudgingly puts it on and stomps out of his room only to turn around and walk right back in.

The silence of the house is too loud, and he needs some pressure on his head or else he's going to go crazy. So he pulls out one of his extra gaming headsets and plugs it into his phone. He slides the headphones over his ears and starts blaring his sensory playlist. The only other people who know about this playlist are Kenma's parents and Kuroo. It's full of up beat, cheesy, American pop songs. Mostly Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. It's the complete opposite of what he listens to normally, but he finds that something about the songs makes him feel good on bad days.

He lets himself sit on his bed and listen to one whole song ( _Love Story_ by Taylor Swift) before finally leaving his room to get breakfast. The lights in the house are too bright, but luckily he knows the place well enough by now to get most of the way to the kitchen with his eyes closed and his hand against the wall.

"Morning, Kenma!" _(Too loud.)_

He freezes in the doorway, startled to find Bokuto leaning against the counter by the sink, eating a piece of toast. Kenma must have woken up earlier than he thought, if he hasn't left for practice yet. He glances at the clock on the stove and, yep, Bokuto isn't going to leave for another half-hour.

He hesitates for a second before pausing his music and pulling his headphones around his neck. "Hey," he mumbles, shuffling through the kitchen to the bread cupboard. He pulls it open and slams it shut a second later when he realizes they're out of chocolate cereal. Which shouldn't be surprising, considering he's the only one who eats it and usually only on bad days like this. He goes to the fridge instead, once again slamming it shut almost immediately after he opens it. No chocolate cereal, no apple juice, and no Kuroo around to make the other kinds of food he likes on bad days. Looks like he's not eating for now.

"Are you okay?" Bokuto asks, coming up behind him and resting a hand on his shoulder.

It hurts. Bokuto's hand on his shoulder _hurts._ And the awareness that he's right behind him only makes it worse. Bad-Day-Kenma absolutely _hates_ physical contact, and he gets extremely claustrophobic when it comes to other people's bodies. "Yep, fine," he says, his voice tense. He ducks away from his boyfriend and hurries back into his room. Okay, so he made it pretty obvious that he's not fine, but Bokuto's always been really good about letting the rest of them have their privacy.

He slips his headphones back over his ears and sits at his desk, intending to spend the day playing video games like he usually does. But twenty minutes later, Kenma realizes he hasn't pulled up any of his games and has just been listening to his music and fiddling with the trinkets on his desk.

He groans and throws his head back, careful not to let the headphones fall off. Okay, so games are out today. He needs to actually _do something_ with his hands, more than moving his mouse and typing on his keyboard or fiddling with the buttons on a controller. He's just now starting to realize how thankful he was for the fact that his mom loved sewing and doing crafts. There was always something for him to do with his hands when he was growing up, he just had to ask her if she wanted any help on her latest project and the two of them would be occupied for hours. He waits another twenty minutes, making sure Bokuto has left and gone to his practice before grabbing his wallet and shoes and heading out to catch the bus.

Kenma gets off at the art store, where he makes a bee-line for the craft kit section. He grabs the first one he sees that doesn't look like it's made for kids (a DIY electric pencil sharpener. maybe he can give it to Akaashi when he's done with it? he is the most artsy out of the four of them) and heads right back to the checkout. Just as he's walking out of the store, the bus headed back the way he came pulls up to the stop across the street and he flags the driver down, letting her know he plans on getting on.

When he gets home, he sits on the floor of the living room and dumps the box out onto the carpet. He connects his Spotify account to the TV to listen to in the background, although he isn't really paying attention. He starts carefully fitting the small wooden pieces together, meticulously checking each step against the diagrams in the instructions at least three times. After three hours, Kenma sits back and looks at the finished product proudly. Maybe more proudly than he should be, since he'd accidentally dented the plastic tube base, and the pencils couldn't exactly fit into the pencil holder part of it because the battery pack was in the way.

It takes two minutes before his satisfied smirk falls. The pencil sharpener is too boring. Maybe he should add some color? But to do that he would have to borrow Akaashi's markers. He debates for about five minutes (ten? two?) before deciding screw it and pulling out his phone.

 **_To: Akaashi  
_ ** _This might be a little weird, but can I borrow ur paint markers?_

 **_Akaashi  
_ ** _Yes, of course. You didn't have to ask, but thank you for doing so._

Kenma grins and rushes into Akaashi's room, grabbing the jar full of pain markers off of his boyfriend's desk. He pours them out onto the couch and starts scribbling on the pencil sharpener, not really paying attention to what colors he's putting where or how they go together.

That's how his boyfriends find him two hours later, sprawled out on the living room floor in an awkward position, coloring the bottom of the pencil sharpener and humming along to _Teenage Dream_ by Katy Perry.

"Whoa, Kenma in the living room instead of his bedroom?" _(Too loud.)_ Kuroo says, hanging his coat on the back of one of the chairs in the dining room. "And not playing video games?" _(Too loud.)_

"What kind of music are you listening to?" **_(Too loud.)_** Bokuto laughs, barging into the living room and tracking snow and salt onto the carpet.

Kenma yelps and flinches away from him, hugging the craft to his chest out of instinct. He fumbles for the remote to shut the TV off but finds he can't remember where he put it. Goddammit, he forgot that his bad days affect his memory too.

"Music?" Kuroo says, frowning, he walks into the living room (thankfully he took his shoes off) and peers at the TV. "That's your... Oh shit, Kenma, was today one of _those_ days?" He groans when Kenma nods slightly. "God, and we didn't even have any of the foods you like. Have you eaten all day?"

The dyed-blond bites his lip and shakes his head. He hadn't really thought about eating after he left the kitchen that morning. All of his focus had been on keeping his hands busy. But now he's finished the craft and his leg is bouncing and he just wants to get up and _move_ , but at the same time he wants to lay down on his bed and fall asleep, and at the same time he wants to ask Kuroo to make him some food because _wow_ he is starving, how had he not noticed all day?

Kuroo sighs and pulls Akaashi and into the kitchen, figuring at least one other person needs to know what's going on.

"Is Kenma okay?" Akaashi asks, glancing back to the living room concernedly.

"Not... really. It's kind of hard to explain." Kuroo runs his hand through his hair as he reaches into the freezer and pulls out a box of chicken nuggets. "Every once in a while, he has a day or a few days where his senses just get really weird. Clothes are too baggy, or too soft, or too itchy. Silence is too pressuring and anything louder that a whisper is too loud. He only listens to American pop songs, because something about them makes him feel good. He can't sit and play video games, because he needs to move and do things with his hands. Either that, or he's dead on his feet the whole day. On bad days, like today, he only eats certain foods because any other foods make him feel weird." He groans and face palms. "And we're out of most of the snack-type foods that he likes."

"Hey," Akaashi says, resting a hand on his back. "Don't blame yourself. I'm guessing there's no way to know when it's coming, and he didn't tell any of us."

Kuroo sighs and leans towards their youngest boyfriend, softly pecking him on the forehead. "You're right. I just feel bad that I wasn't prepared. He hasn't had a day this bad since high school."

Akaashi hums, understanding. "Is there anything we can do to help? Or anything else we should know, so that we don't make him even more uncomfortable?"

"He doesn't like physical contact on bad days," Kuroo says almost instantly, "Especially around his shoulders, neck, and head. Anybody less than an arm's length away from him he's super aware of, and if they get too close without warning he'll freak out and look for a way to get away."

Behind them, they hear Bokuto groan. "So _that's_ what that was about." They turn, finding Bokuto pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge. "He was super weird when he came into the kitchen for breakfast this morning, and I put my hand on his shoulder to try to calm him down. Sounds like I just made things worse."

Kuroo bites his lip. Just then, the oven beeps, signalling that it's done pre-heating. He slides the tray of chicken nuggets into it and walks into the living room. "Kitten?" he says quietly.

Kenma looks up at his boyfriend from where he's still laying on the floor, fiddling with the seams of his fleece.

"It is a move day, or a sleep day?"

"Both?" Kenma groans, "Mostly move though, I think?"

"Okay," Kuroo nods, "I just put some chicken in the oven. How about you go for a walk with Bo and Kaashi, and when you come back we can have dinner?"

Kenma nods and pushes himself up, making his way to the dining room. Akaashi smiles at him and hands him his coat, which he must have thrown onto the table when he got home from the art store. Once he's ready, the three traipse out of the house and start walking towards the street. He grimaces when the light hits his eyes and squeezes them shut, reluctantly holding onto Bokuto's arm to guide him.

"Kenma?" Bokuto asks gently.

Kenma hums in response, opening his eyes slightly to look at him.

"I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't know, and I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Kenma frowns. This morning? What had happened this morning? He takes a second to remember. Oh, right. Bokuto had been concerned about him when he'd gone to get breakfast, and had put his hand on his shoulder.

He shakes his head. "It's okay Bo. Like you said, you didn't know."

After that, Akaashi and Bokuto start quietly talking about Bokuto's practice. They don't expect him to join in the conversation, and Kenma's glad. He hates silence, but he also doesn't want to talk right now, so having people talking around him but not to him directly is comforting.

They walk the four blocks to the park before Akaashi tries to talk to Kenma, and by then he's starting to feel more comfortable.

"Hey Kenma?" Akaashi asks.

Kenma glances up at him, humming.

"What was that you were working on? It looked really cool."

"Oh. Um, well, I just really wanted to do something with my hands besides play games, and when I used to get like that my mom and I would work on crafts together, so I went to the art store and bought a craft kit. It was an electric pencil sharpener. I was actually gonna give it to you, 'cuz I don't really plan on using it, but I know you like writing and art."

Akaashi chuckles, carefully keeping his hands in his pockets. "That would be awesome. Thanks, Kenma."

Kenma smiles at Akaashi's words, hesitantly holding his hand out for him to hold. Akaashi seems surprised for a second before grinning and taking the offered hand. Kenma keeps his other hand around Bokuto's arm, mostly because he feels safer that way, oddly enough.

Bokuto and Akaashi go back to quietly talking about nothing as they walk around the park once, twice, three times, and then Akaashi's phone buzzes. He pulls it out of his pocket and informs them that it was Kuroo, letting him know that he was taking the chicken out of the oven and they could start heading home.

After today, Kenma starts to get more and more comfortable and aware of his sensory issues. He starts to learn what sorts of things trigger it, and his boyfriends always seem to be at the top of the list when it comes to things that help calm it down. They don't ever fully go away, he figures the problems and bad days never will. But they rarely get as bad as time goes on.

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone's curious, [this](https://images.app.goo.gl/EfzxLhS8eHJRR1S9A) is what the DIY pencil sharpener looks like. I got these kits when I was a teen, and they were always really fun and helped with my SPD.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!!


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